Stefan S.
Interim Director Finance / CFO
Experience
Sep 2023 - Nov 2024
1 year 3 monthsInterim Director Finance / CFO
Hemovent GmbH
- Medical technology, 60 employees, no revenue (start-up)
- Transitioning processes from a “garage” setup to series production
- Building finance processes including monthly reporting to the Chinese parent company
- Creating a multi-year plan (5/10 years) and budget for 2024 + 2025
- Ensuring sufficient financial resources
- Creating and implementing a restructuring plan: reducing >60% of staff and costs
Apr 2023 - Aug 2023
5 monthsInterim-CFO
SVT GmbH
- Plant engineering, 190 employees, €55 M revenue, 3 international subsidiaries
- Taking over duties of the absent role-holder (e.g. reporting to the investment firm and consolidating foreign units)
- Establishing effective project controlling
- Improving use of the ERP system (ams.erp)
- Working capital optimization: inventory reduction, receivables management
Jan 2023 - Mar 2023
3 monthsSupporting private equity firms in M&A transactions
Private Equity Gesellschaften
- Assistance with insolvency takeovers
- Continuing initiated buy & build projects
Sep 2022 - Dec 2022
4 monthsInterim Head of Finance
Heubach GmbH
- Chemical industry, 400 employees, €300 M revenue
- Transitioning the old company structure into the new merged situation (merger with Clariant pigments)
- Adjusted planning and reporting process
- Introducing IFRS; switching consolidation to LucaNet
- Building infrastructure for the parent holding
- SAP company codes, workflows
- Adjusting the finance/controlling department structure, eliminating the future “Head of Finance” role
Jan 2022 - May 2022
5 monthsInterim-CRO
KWE Klein & Wilhelm Engineering GmbH
- Mechanical engineering, 74 employees, €10 M revenue
- Situation analysis on behalf of the owner; creating business planning + strategic concept; solving backlog in technical office and production
- Introducing new organizational structure (business units)
- Recruiting production management (shift systems, multi-machine operation, etc.)
- Introducing capacity planning in the technical office
- Improving the working capital situation
- Implementing ERP (AP+)
Dec 2020 - Dec 2021
1 year 1 monthSupporting private equity firms in transactions
Private Equity Gesellschaften
- (Financial) due diligence
- Buy & build concepts
- Insolvency takeovers
Nov 2019 - Nov 2020
1 year 1 monthCEO/CFO - Managing Director
Virotech Diagnostics GmbH
- Medical technology, 80 employees, €15 M revenue
- Merging “Virotech” with sister company “NovaTec”: relocation, merger, balancing interests, social plan, capturing synergies
- Developing, producing and marketing a COVID-19 test
- Multiplying production volume 8x (including extended workbench)
- Transferring finance functions to the parent company’s shared service center
Apr 2019 - May 2020
1 year 2 monthsCFO/Commercial Managing Director
W.I.S. Unternehmensgruppe
- Security services & technology, 4,000 employees, €140 M revenue
- Developing and implementing a restructuring concept
- Reorganizing finance processes (bringing accounting/HR back in-house)
- Building internal finance department for 16 legal entities and 4,000 payrolls p.m., including system environment (DATEV/LODAS with BI integration)
- Eliminating operational losses within the first year
Feb 2019 - Apr 2019
3 monthsInterim CRO (Chief Restructuring Officer)
Handel IT-Zubehör
- B2B printer accessories / IT equipment trade, 40 employees, €30 M revenue
- Creating a going-concern forecast including a turnaround plan
Aug 2018 - Jan 2019
6 monthsInterim COO (Chief Operating Officer)
RailMaint GmbH
- Maintenance of rail vehicles; 300 employees, €55 M revenue
- Improving production processes and shop-floor layout
- Introducing a shift system
- Setting up a “fast-lane” production
- Leading project management in a critical major project (€24 M)
Apr 2018 - Jul 2018
4 monthsInterim-CRO (Chief Restructuring Officer)
Verpackungsindustrie
- Packaging industry (aluminum foil for butter, etc.); 60 employees, €15 M revenue
- Supporting the owner family in restructuring their company
- Assisting restructuring auditors in preparing IDW S6 report
- Developing a restructuring concept
- Managing banks / preparing alternative refinancing
- Launching a comprehensive profit improvement program
- Negotiating compensation with a machinery supplier
Aug 2017 - Dec 2017
5 monthsCFO/Commercial Managing Director
WBN Waggonbau Niesky GmbH
- On behalf of Quantum Capital Partners
- Railcar manufacturing (project business / small-series production)
- 300 employees plus up to 100 temps; €90 M revenue
- Situation analysis for the shareholders
- Recommending and implementing necessary corrective actions
- Identifying the issues and causes; outlining a solution path
- Communicating with top customers, shaping compromises (realistic deadlines, agreed cancellations, capping penalties)
- Recruiting production management and initiating improvements
Aug 2015 - Aug 2017
2 years 1 monthCEO/CFO - Sole Managing Director
ND SatCom GmbH
- On behalf of Quantum Capital Partners (formerly Airbus)
- Satellite communication (project business)
- 150 employees, €35 M revenue, units in China and Dubai
- Saving the company despite
- high losses / €5 M annual cash burn
- major delay of the new “Modem 5G” development
- weak cash reserves (high distributions / no debt)
- weak pipeline and low order backlog
- removing the previous management (2 MDs, CFO, head of operations)
- significant headcount reductions with no major know-how loss
- launching and realizing a cost reduction program
- completing the new satellite modem after almost 2 years of delays
- reorganizing into business units (Defense, Satellite Networks, Broadcast)
- turning around previously loss-making foreign units (Beijing, Dubai)
Feb 2014 - Aug 2015
1 year 7 monthsGroup Controller
Quantum Capital Partners
- Integrating acquired companies (including building/outsourcing finance IT)
- Establishing group-wide monitoring/reporting structure for all units
- Jointly developing and executing business strategies
- General finance optimization and restructuring within units
Jan 2013 - Nov 2013
11 monthsInterim-CFO
Langbein & Engelbracht GmbH
- On behalf of Bavaria Industries Group AG
- Machinery and plant engineering; 130 employees, €30 M revenue
- Leading and restructuring commercial areas (accounting, finance, controlling, IT, procurement, order processing, HR)
- Taking responsibility for the “Paper Industry” division
- Creating transparency for shareholders
- Building effective control instruments
- Turning around the loss-making “Paper Industry” division in 3 months
- Significantly improving working capital
- Launching cost reduction program (-24% from 2014)
May 2011 - Jan 2013
1 year 9 monthsCEO/CFO - Sole Executive Board Member
Hering AG
- (for Bavaria Industries Group AG)
- Machinery and plant engineering; 80 employees, €12 M revenue
- Situation analysis for the main shareholder
- Recommending and executing necessary corrective measures
- Taking over duties of the released management
- Ending losses by changing the product mix
- Creating transparency for shareholders
- Strengthening unique selling points, especially growing the US market (“ASME”)
- Further process optimization and automation (e.g. CAD/ERP integration)
Aug 2009 - Apr 2011
1 year 9 monthsManaging Partner – CEO/CFO
“pamino” group
- Manufacturing & selling parquet: 60 employees, €7 M revenue
- Overall restructuring including strategic repositioning
- Streamlining the product range and adjusting sales structure
- Building effective control instruments
- Initiating insolvency procedures (financial crisis / Greek export collapse, etc.)
- Immediately switching product and production to a “click system,” stopping customer erosion and entering new customer segments and channels (domestic revenue up 30%)
- Optimizing cash situation (inventory reduction, real estate sale, pool agreement)
- Cost reduction program for direct and indirect costs (-16%)
Oct 2003 - Aug 2009
5 years 11 monthsCEO/CFO - Sole Executive Board Member
Hering AG
- (for Bavaria Industries Group AG)
- Machinery and plant engineering; 60 employees, €6 M revenue
- Saving and leading a highly loss-making mid-sized company
- Strategic realignment and restructuring of all areas
- Building control instruments, introducing ERP (AMS++)
- Customer rationalization based on contribution margins
- Exiting the loss zone within one year
- Doubling revenue from 2003 to 2008 with improved margins
- Reducing material usage by 30% through product redesign
- Halving lead times across the process chain
- Significantly improving financial situation (factoring, guarantee line, sale & leaseback, working capital line)
- Cutting direct and indirect costs by up to 25%
- Improving the balance sheet, eliminating negative equity
May 2002 - Dec 2003
1 year 8 monthsBuilding the bank and leading finance & administration
Mediolanum S.p.A. / Bankhaus August Lenz
- (Start-up)
- Building a banking platform to distribute banking, insurance and fund products under “Bankhaus August Lenz”
- Designing all functions such as accounting, regulatory reporting, payroll, customer service, marketing, partly with Accenture
- After market entry in April 2003, taking over line functions
Jul 2001 - Apr 2002
10 monthsManager/Authorized Signatory/Audit Leader
Arthur Andersen
- Strategic corporate consulting (market entry concepts)
- Business consulting (process optimization)
- Audit consulting and implementing risk concepts
- Conducting due diligence projects / business valuations
- Performing annual financial audits
Nov 1995 - Jun 2001
5 years 8 monthsManager Internal Control & Financial Control
Citibank
- (Start-up)
- Supporting the build-up of the new operations center (BahnCard/VISA)
- Monitoring and optimizing business processes
- Planning and coordinating all audit work
- Introducing a self-assessment process
- From 08/2000 also Manager Financial Control (16 staff)
- Accounting, payment processing and cash management for various group units including Diners Club and Card Acceptance Belgium
Jun 1992 - Oct 1995
3 years 5 monthsInternal Audit / Process Improvement
Coca-Cola
- (Start-up)
- Supporting the largest investment in Coke’s history worldwide
- Building multiple production and distribution sites in the new federal states:
- Restructuring former trust operations
- Developing and implementing an internal control system
- Optimizing business processes in all areas
- Several-month assignments for the international Corporate Audit Department
Feb 1991 - May 1992
1 year 4 monthsAssistant, Audit Leader
Arthur Andersen
- Consulting & auditing mid-sized companies, especially:
- Annual financial audits
- Creating and implementing restructuring concepts
- Introducing management information systems
- Preparing financial, performance and liquidity reports
Summary
- Confidently spotting business opportunities, crisis causes and process weaknesses
- Quickly engaging and winning over usually very unsettled teams
- Rapid development and implementation of fitting growth and solution plans
- Calm approach even in critical situations
- Leadership through empowerment: strong sense for employee potential, creating highly successful management teams
- Pragmatic, hands-on and decisive
Languages
German
NativeEnglish
AdvancedSpanish
ElementaryFrench
ElementaryItalian
ElementaryEducation
Nov 1984 - Nov 1989
Erlangen-Nuremberg University
Diplom-Kaufmann · Business Administration · Erlangen, Germany
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